Because TCOG gets so many questions and complaints from citizens who wonder what they can do when their officials in a local government violate the state’s Open Meetings Act, we’ve set up a new Open Meetings Complaint page on TCOG’s website under the “Resources” tab to explain some options.

We will continue to update this page as time goes on, and add to it as we hear from you. TCOG’s aim is to try to provide helpful information on how best to create a culture in local government that complies with both the letter and the spirit of the Sunshine law.

You can reach the page here: Open Meetings Complaint page.

The Open Meetings Act states:

(a) The general assembly hereby declares it to be the policy of this state that the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret.

You can read more about it in our 52-page booklet, Keys to Open Government, a guide to open records and open meetings law in Tennessee. This is free to download off of our website, or you can purchase a copy for $4 that we’ll mail you.